Elevator



(No Model.)

B. 0. SMITH.

ELEVATOR.

No. 439,734. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE,

RUDOLPH O. SMITH, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO OTIS BROTHERS & COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

E L-EVATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,734, dated November 4, 1890.

Application filed April 24, 1888- Serial No. 271,684. (No model.) Patented in England September 26, 1888, No. 13,890-

To whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH O. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residingat Yonkers, county of Westchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, fully described and represented in. the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, the said improvements be- (0 ing embraced in British Letters Patent No.

13,890, dated September 26, 1888.

This invention relates to a means for op erating the valve or other devicewhich controls the movements of an elevatonc-ar.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a hydraulic elevator equipped with valve-operating devices embodying the present invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged views of portions of Fig.

1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the parts shown in Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are views of modifications of some of the devices.

Referring to said figures, it is to be under- 2 5 stood that A represents the elevator-car, and B the hoising-cable. The elevator, as herein shown, is operated by means of a vertical hydraulic cylinder 0, having a piston, the rods a of which are connected to a pulley b, which 0 travels in the dependingloop of the hoistingcable B. The cylinder O is provided with the usual induction-pipe 0, through which water is admitted to the upper end of the cylinder under suitable pressure to drive the 3 5 piston, and with a circulating-pipe d and discharge-pipe f, through which the water circulates from the upper to the lower end of the cylinder as the car descendsv and from which the water is finally discharged as the car again ascends, all of these parts being organized in the common and well-known manner.

The movements of the car are controlled by an ordinary valve D, which controls the circulation and discharge of the water in the common manner. The rod 9 of the valve D is provided with an auxiliary piston h, which works in a small auxiliary cylinder it, having ports which are controlled by an auxiliary valve Z, the rod on of which is connected to a lever 02, which is fulcrumed upon the rod g. The water for operating the piston his admitted to the cylinder is through an induction-port 0, which communicates through a pipe (not shown) with the circulating-pipe d or any other source of water-supply, and the water after performing its work in the cylinder It is exhausted through a discharge-pipep.

Connected to one end of the lever n is a pair of ropes s s, which. extend in opposite 6o directions, and after passing around suitablyarranged pulleys textend upward in the elevator-shaft, passing through or adjacent to the car, and are secured at their upper ends to a movable bar w, located at the top of the elevator-shaft. The bar 10 moves vertically in a straight or substantially straight line in a guide and is connected by a pin to a lever y, which is fulcrumed upon a suitable support, and the opposite end of which is provided with a suflicient weight .2 to maintain the ropes s .9 under proper tension to operate the valve l whenever the tension of one of the ropes is increased beyond that of the other, as will be hereinafter explained, the bar 10 and the meansshown, or any other suitable means for holding it in position to maintain the ropes under tension, constituting an equalizer, of which the bar w is a movable member.

It is evident that the form of the movable member and the means for holding it under tension may be varied.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5, there are fixed studs projecting from the side of the car, upon which are mounted deflecting-pulleys 9, which are arranged in such positions that as the car moves up and down the pulleys will travel j ust outside the ropes 5. Located above the pulleys 9 and between the ropes s s is a vibrating or moving deflectingpulley 10, which is mounted upon one arm of a bellcrank lever 12, which is fulcrumed upon the side of the car, and has its other arm provided with a stud 13, which passes through an opening in the side or the car and enters a slot 5 formed in a hand-lever 14, also fulcru med upon the car in position to be conveniently operated by the conductor.

The operation of the apparatus as thus far described is as follows: So long as the lever :00

1i remains in its normal position the pulley 10 will remain in the central position indieated in Fig. 1 and neither one of the ropes s s will be deflected. The length of the ropes is so adjusted that when in this position the valve Z will be held in its mid-position, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to prevent the induction and discharge of water to and from the cylinder 7.", and as a consequence the piston h and the main valve D will remain in their mid-position and the car will be at rest. To cause the car to ascend, the lever 14: will be moveddownward,thereby rocking the lever 1 2, so as to carry the pulley 10 to the left, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and cause it to press againstand deflect the ropes s 3 upon that side against one of the pulleys 9. The rope 3, thus deflected around the pulley 10 against the pulley 9, will be put under sufficient tension to draw the bar to down against the resistance of weights, and this downward movement of the bar 10 will permit the undeflected rope to follow the deflected rope around the pulleys t, the lever n moving downward. The bar to and the lever n thusmove downward together, the bar to moving suffieiently to compensate for the shortening of the deflected rop It; is apparent,however, that 6 c mpensating movement of the bar w W be but 0l e-half the length of the rope taken up by the deflecting-pulleys, as this shortening is compensated for on two sides by e mOVenlent of the bar to, acting upon both the ropes s s. The weight 2 is so adjusted as to permit the movement of the bar to 011 the shortening of the deflected rope, but to operate to equalize the tension upon the two ropes and maintain a sufficient tension upon them to prevent any slack in the undefieeted rope as the other rope is deflected. This movement of the ropes around the pulleys 25 will rock the lover a downward and move the valve 1 so as to admit water to the lower end of the cylinder k and permit the water in the 1 1 d of the cylinder to be discharged. This Will operate to move the piston 7L and t e main valve D upward, so as to permit the water in the lower end of the cylinder 0 to escape through the discharge-pi pe f and cause the car to ascend. As soon as the piston h and main valve commence to move upward, as just described, the rod 9, acting upon the levern, will operate to move the valve I back toward its mid-position, and as the movement of the piston 7t and valve D continue the valve I will be carried back to its mid-position, so as to prevent the further admission of water to the cylinder 7.3, and thus arrest the piston h and the main valve. The amount of movement thus given to the main valve will thus always be dependent upon and proportioned to the amount of movement given to the auxiliary valve Z, and by this means the conductor, by moving the lever ll so as to open the valve Z to a greater or less extent, can control the extent of movement of the main valve D, and

thus control the speed of the car. The main valve having been moved upward, as just described, so as to cause the car to ascend, it only nec ssary in order to stop the ear to release the lever 11. As soon as this is done the pulley 10 will assume its central position, thereby releasing the rope s, which has been deflected around the pulley and against the pulley 9, and as this takes place the weight .2, acting through the lever y, will operate to raise the bar to and return the ropes to their normal position, thus shiftin g the ropes around the pulleys t in the reverse direction, and thereby rocking the lever 11, so as to shift the valve Z and admit water above the piston 7L and allow the water below the piston to be discharged. This will cause the piston 7L and main valve to move downward until they arrive in their mid-position,and this downward movement will through the lever n operate to move the auxiliary valve 1 back to its midposition, so as to arrest the movement of the main valve as soon as the latter has arrived at its mid'position, and thus stop and retain the carin that position.

To cause the car to descend and to arrest it during its descent, the operation is exactly the same as just described, except that the lever 14. will be rocked in the reverse direction, deflecting the rope s.

It might sometimes happen that the auxiliary valve would bind or stick in its valvechest to such an extent that the weights would not be sufficient to operate it, as just described, and in case this should happen it is desirable to provide means by which the conductor can exert the power of the lever 14 directly upon the valve. For this purpose the lever y is provided with a pawl 15, which ongages with a ratchet 16, formed upon a segment 17, which is pivoted loosely at the side of the lever y. The segment 17 is provided with a slot 18, into which extends a pin 19, which proj ects from a stationary arm 20. The slot 18 is of sufficient length to allow the necessary movement of the segment occasioned by the downward movementof the bar w in the deflection of the ropes s s when the valve 1 moves freely and responds to the weight ,2.

If, however, at any time the valve fails to respond to the weight ,2, the bar to willbe moved downward by the deflection of one of the ropes around the pulley 10 and the weight .2 raised until the pawl 15, engaging with the ratchet 16, rocks the segment 17 into engagement with the stud 19. The lever 1 and the bar will then be locked against further movement in that direction, and any further strain upon the rope by the pulley 10 will act directly to move the auxiliary valve.

Any elongation of the ropes s s occasioned by heat or by stretching in use will. be taken up by the weight 2, which will rock the lever 'y so as to raise the bar and maintain the ropes under proper and equal tension. As the lever y is thus rocked the pawl 15 will be retracted on the ratchet 16 and engage with the ratchet in a new position, so as to main tain the proper connection between the seg-' ment and the lever y. The slot 18 is of sufficient length to allow the lever y to be rocked in the opposite direction to accommodate itself to any contraction in the ropes occasioned by cold. The bar w is provided with a number of openings, as indicated, by which it can be connected to the lever y at different points to accommodate itself to longer or shorter ropes.

It will be observed that the levers 12 14 are so constructed as to form a compound-lever, which operates so that as the lever 12 is rocked to deflect either one of the ropes s s the power exerted by the lever 14 is, owing to the change in the an glesof the levers, gradually increased, thus compensating for the gradually increasing resistance of the ropes as its deflection is increased.- v

The devices for deflecting the ropes s 8' (shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5) may be modified without departing from my invention. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6, the pulley 10' may be mounted on a fixed stud projecting from the side of the car, while the pulleys 9 may be mounted upon a bell-crank arm pivoted to the stud on which the pulley 10 is mounted; or, as shown in Fig. 7, they may be mounted upon a slide, the bell-crank arm and slide being moved through suitable connections by the lever 14, as shown. In each of these modifications the pulleys 9 operate to deflect one of the ropes s s as they are moved either to the right or the left, as desired. Other modifications may readily be madebypersons skilled in this art without departure from my invention.

The apparatus is herein shown as applied to operate an auxiliary valve; but it is to be understood that it maybe applied to the main valve directly or to operate any other mechanism for controlling the movements of the elevator-car-such, for example, as a beltshifter, a steam-valve, or any of the other appliances used in connection with elevators.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with an elevator-car and the mechanism for controlling its movements, of the two ropes s 8, connected to the controlling mechanism, deflecting pulleys carried by the car for deflecting one or the other of said ropes, and an equalizer provided with a movable member from which the ropes are suspended, the equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member to compensate for the shortening of the deflected rope and returning the ropes to their normal position when the deflected rope is released, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with an elevator-car and the mechanism for controlling its movements, of the two ropes s s connected to the controlling mechanism, one moving and two fixed deflecting-pulleys carried by the car for deflecting one or the other of said ropes, and

an equalizer provided with a movable member from which the ropes are suspended, the equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member to compensate for the shortening of the deflected rope and returning the ropes to their normal position when the deflected rope is released, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the elevator-car and the mechanism for controlling its movements, of the two ropes s 8', connected to the controlling mechanism, deflecting-pulleys carried by the car for deflecting one or the other of said ropes, a compound lever 12 14 for operating said deflecting-pulleys, and an equalizer provided with a movable member from which the ropes are suspended, the equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member to compensate for the shortening of the deflected rope and returning the ropes to their normal position when the deflected rope is released, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with an elevator-car and the mechanism for controlling its movements, of the two ropes s .9, connected to the controlling mechanism,- deflecting-pulleys carried by the car for deflecting one or the other of said ropes, an equalizer provided with a movable member from which the ropes are suspended, the equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member to compensate for the shortening of the deflect ed rope and returning the ropes to their normal position when the deflected rope is released, and a stop, as 19, for limiting the movement of the movable member, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with an elevator-car and the mechanism for controlling its movements,of two ropes 58', connected to the controlling mechanism, deflecting-pulleys carried by the car for deflecting one or the other of said ropes, an equalizer provided witha movable member from which the ropes are suspended, the equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member to compensate for the shortening of the deflected rope and returning the ropes to their normal position when the deflected rope is released, a stop, as 19, for limiting the movement of the movable member, and means for allowing the equalizer to take up the slack caused by the elongation of the ropes without changing substantially the relation of the movable member to the stop, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the two ropes s 8', connected to the elevator-controlling mechanism, of an equalizer provided with a mov able member connected to said ropes, said equalizer yielding to permit the movement of the movable member when the tension on either of the ropes is increased and returning the ropes to their normal position when the excess of tension on the rope is released, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the two ropes s s,

IIO

connected to the elevator-controlling' mechanism, of an equalizer provided with a movable member connected to said ropes, said equalizer yielding to permit the movementof 5 the movable member when the tension 011 citherof the ropes is increased and returning the ropes to their normal position when the excess of tension on the rope is released, and a stop, as 19, for limiting the movement of the 10 movable member, substantially as described. 8. The combination, with the ropes s .5", of

the bar 10, lever n, weight 2, segment 17, stop 10, and pawl and ratchet 15 16, substantially as described.

I11 testimony whereof I have hereunto set I5 my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RUDOLPH 0. SMITH.

Witnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, T. H. PALMER. 

